Store Manager - Factory Shop

For more than 150 years, John Lobb has prided itself in upholding the highest standards and levels of craftsmanship and design in the creation of hand-made shoes and boots for men.

A company of the Hermes group since 1976, the bespoke footwear is still hand-crafted in our workshop in Paris while the ready to wear collections are manufactured in our Northampton factory.

John Lobb owns a global distribution network that includes twenty stores established in eight countries, and works with a highly selective network of partners and authorized retailers around the world.

Our Northampton Factory includes a factory shop that sells discontinued models and rejected pairs. The Store Manager will follow the John Lobb standards in serving customers and will lead as well as participate in all the operations related to the store. While reporting to the EME Sales Director, they will be in charge of the impeccable running of the store and supervising Factory Shop employees.

General Mission

In coordination with the European Commercial team, the Store Manager will deal with John Lobb’s discerning clientele. In charge of internal procedures, they will follow the John Lobb standards at all times. The position entails involvement in all aspects of daily shop life, including dealing with stock and deliveries, after-care services, sales reports, rejects and repairs follow-up, customer communication and administrative tasks.

Main Accountabilities

Report to the EME Regional Sales director, the Store Manager will lead and participate in the following:

• Serve customers and offer advice on shoes, shoe care and accessories. Offer excellent customer service, develop and maximise sales opportunities whilst ensuring customer retention.
• Coordinate and manage bi yearly sales events/projects that impact the Factory Shop. Ensuring adequate stock is selected and prepared in advance, communication and bookings are shared with clients in a timely manner, enough bookings for the event are made and follow sales throughout the events to ensure expected budget is achieved.
• Develop an in-depth knowledge of all John Lobb’s products: their features and benefits.
• Ensure that in store displays are constantly reviewed, kept fresh, relevant and attractive at all times, in line with visual merchandising guidelines
• Deal with customer queries and correspondence in a timely manner; answer query emails from customers regarding opening times and available stock.
• Process the internal employee’s orders and follow the use of their allowances in the strict respect of internal rules. Keep accurate records in line with procedures.
• Follow the sales trend with the appropriate indicators and propose sales initiatives to meet your monthly sales target;
• Contribute to the compilation, maintenance and utilisation of an accurate customer database in support of CRM initiatives.
• Be proactive to suggest and participate in excellent aftersales and sales support activities.
• Produce daily transaction sheets for the accounts department.
• Manage the banking and cashing up on a daily basis including all reconciliations and financial reporting.
• Keep accurate weekly and monthly reports on both sales and store performance.
• Manage the stocktake twice a year, and cycle count biweekly.
• Keep a detailed database of stock and sales in Cegid; produce ad hoc reports when required
• Maintain a constant knowledge of the stock that is available in the store and elsewhere; ensure that stock is properly stored and handled and action any issues in the correct manner. Participate in the stock receiving and maintenance processes.
• Help to refine and improve internal systems to ensure efficient operations.
• Answer the phone and the door buzzer when needed
• Take part in security activities within the company’s guidelines and ensure, as far as practicable, that stock or other property is not put at unnecessary risk.
• Liaise with the wider John Lobb team as necessary in support of the store’s requirements.
• Undertake projects and responsibilities at the direction of the EME Sales Director.
• Responsible for delivering training to all new staff in the Factory Shop, including agency workers.
• Ensure the Factory Shop remains compliant with all GDPR regulations, for example customer data.

Applicant profile

Qualities and skills expected:

• Previous experience in a retail background, at a managerial level.
• Exceptional customer service skills
• Excellent spoken communication skills
• Spirit of co-operation within and between departments; ability to create a friendly environment
• Responsible and conscientious attitude; organized, rigorous and ability to work with autonomy
• Not afraid of physical work
• Good knowledge of MS Office (particularly Excel), knowledge of Cegid would be a plus
• Experience of retail administration. A basic understanding of CRM, databases is essential.

A creator, artisan and seller of high-quality objects since 1837, Hermès is an independent, family-owned French house that employs nearly 25,185 people worldwide. Driven by its permanent entrepreneurial spirit and consistently high standards, Hermès cultivates the freedom and autonomy of each individual through responsible management. The company perpetuates the transmission of exceptional know-how through strong territorial anchoring that respects people and resources. Sixteen artisanal métiers feed the creativity of the house, whose collections are presented in over 300 stores around the world.